Fibromyalgia
Adding acupuncture to Fibromyagia (FMS) treatment regimen significantly relieves pain, according to a study published in the Journal of Rehabilitative Medicine.
Researchers took a group of women treating FMS with tricyclic antidepressants and exercise and gave acupuncture to half of them. After 20 sessions, the ones getting acupuncture were in far less pain and better quality of life.
Researchers say full benefits appeared to linger for about 3 months without further acupuncture treatments. Six months after treatments ended, the acupuncture group still fared significantly better than the control group when it came to pain and tender points. All benefits appeared to wane within 2 years without acupuncture
Fibromyalgia is a syndrome with features that include chronic, widespread musculoskeletal pain and stiffness and associated with fatigue, poor sleep and the presence of discrete tender points. Fibromyalgia affects ~3.7 million people in the U.S.; 75% of patients are women between the ages of approximately 35 to 55 .1
I Got My Life Back
Approximately three months ago I started to have pain in my neck, shoulders, arms, legs, hands, feet, upper and lower back. This was what brought me in to see Dr. Zilahy. The pain at its worse was a “10” and at its best was between a “6 or 7”. The pain was constant, which made me feel depressed, irritable, grouchy and miserable. At the time, I cold not get out of my bed by myself. I needed someone to pull me up.
This problem prevented me from engaging in social activities, spending quality time with my daughter and family. I was unable to be an affective supervisor. I was basically just “there” but not as active as I had been with the employees I supervise and the patients for whose care I was assigned to oversee.
I went to see an orthopedic doctor, orthopedic surgeon, a neurologist, a neurosurgeon as well as my PCP. I was prescribed meds such as: Lyrica, Nucenta, Vicodan, Tylenol #4, Neurontin and Prednisone.
After the first visit of my acupuncture treatment, I felt some relief of the pain. Today, I can honestly say that my pain level is between a 0 and 1. Most of the time my pain is a 0. I am not able to participate in family and church functions. I can shop in comfort. I have more energy and I feel like a NEW PERSON!
I thank God for sending me to Dr. Zilahy because I was actually looking in the phone book for a pain management facility. I called a place from the yellow pages and asked about acupuncture and the woman on the phone asked me to hold on. She came back to the phone and gave me Dr. Zilahy’s name and phone number.
I am a registered nurse at a hospital in the Hartford area who recently had surgery on my knee. My knee healed fine but the pain I experienced kept me from returning to work. Before seeing Dr. Zilahy, I thought I might have to go on disability because the pain not only altered my ability to function but it also prevented me from concentrating and focusing on what I was doing. After seeing Dr. Zilahy I am able to function, concentrate and focus on things as I had done prior to the onset of the pain. I neglected to mention that the pain kept me up most of the night. I had many restless and sleepless nights even with sleep medication. Now I am able to sleep and I feel well rested when I wake up in the morning. There was also a time when the pain in my hands prevented me from opening pill bottles, which was one of the responsibilities I had in my home care job. My role was to administer patient’s meds in their home as well as lots of walking and other tasks. It is a pleasure for me now to do my job and I owe it all to Dr. Zilahy who has changed my life. I am very grateful to Dr. Zilahy and his wonderful staff for giving me back my life. Thanks to Bonnie for always making me laugh.